A TEENAGER killed during a school trip to the Italian Alps was described by his headteacher yesterday as an "archetypal excellent student".

An inquiry will begin today into the death of 17-year-old Alex Foulkes, one of a dozen Harrogate Grammar School students who joined the two-week trekking expedition on Saturday.

Headmaster Dr Philip Limbert said: "Our prime responsibility over the last two days has been for Alex who was a remarkable student.

"He was a house vice-captain, an able scholar doing AS level whose future lay in sports journalism."

Dr Lambert confirmed that the party was not far from its destination in the Val d'Aosta area late on Monday when Alex fell into a fast-flowing river.

Italian mountain rescue teams were alerted within minutes but the Foreign Office confirmed yesterday that a body had been recovered from the water.

The body was identified by Alex's parents, who had already flown out to Italy.

By then, the expedition had been abandoned and the remaining members of the group were heading home with two members of the school's staff who had been leading them.

As the party landed at an undisclosed airport, counsellors were being called in to help youngsters at the 1,600-pupil North Yorkshire school.

Dr Limbert would not be drawn on the precise details of the tragedy. He said: "It is quite a reasonable request to know all the details and I am sure, over the next days and weeks, that will come out; but it would be wrong for me to say exactly what happened because I wasn't there and I don't know.

"I have spoken to people who were but I think it would be wrong to speculate."

The school's head of policy and development, Bernadette Jones, confirmed a risk assessment had been carried out ahead of the trip.

This was line with Government guidelines introduced after other tragedies.

These included the deaths of two Leeds schoolgirls, Hannah Black and Rochelle Cauvet, who were swept away on a river walking expedition in the Yorkshire Dales in 2000.

The assessment was favourable as the Harrogate school's expedition was to be led by a professional mountain guide, employed by holiday firm Exodus, which arranges walking holidays worldwide.

Both teachers on the trip also had the necessary qualifications allowing them to lead mountain treks.

A decision on whether other planned school trips will go ahead this summer will not be taken until parents have been consulted. Senior staff have also discussed the possibility of ending term early.

Dr Limbert said the school would continue to do what it could to support Alex's family, including his 14-year-old brother Gregory - a pupil in year nine - who flew to Italy with his parents.

Exodus spokesman Powell Ettinger said: "Obviously, some of our staff are still in Italy but an inquiry will begin as soon as they return.

"In the meantime, our deepest condolences go to the family and to the pupils and staff on the trip. This must be a terrible time for them.